Lake KIVU

Lake Kivu is unique:
Its deep waters contain an enormous quantity of dissolved gas.
There are, in fact, 65 billion cubic metres of methane, in other words the equivalent of 50 million tonnes of petrol&nbsp;lying at the bottom of the lake under 250 m of water.

If it were exploited, this energy, veritable manna from heaven, would provide Rwanda with an almost inexhaustible source of energy, freeing it from worry about energy needs linked to its development projects. There is a pilot station for the extraction of methane for energy.

The lake covers a total surface area of some 2,700&nbsp;km2 (1,040 sq&nbsp;mi) and stands at a height of 1,460&nbsp;metres (4,790 ft) above sea level. Some 1 370 km2 or 58% of the lake's waters lie within DRC borders. The lake bed sits upon a rift valley that is slowly being pulled apart, causing volcanic activity in the area, and making it particularly deep: its maximum depth of 480&nbsp;m (1,575 ft) is ranked fifteenth in the world. The lake is surrounded by majestic mountains.

The world's tenth-largest inland island, Idjwi, lies in Lake Kivu, as does the tiny island of Tshegera, which also lies within the boundaries of Virunga National Park; while settlements on its shore include Bukavu, Kabare, Kalehe, Sake and Goma in Congo and Gisenyi, Kibuye and Cyangugu in Rwanda.

Native fish include species of Barbus, Clarias, og Haplochromis, as well as Nile Tilapia, one of two species known as the Tanganyika sardine, was introduced in 1959 and formed the basis of a new pelagic zone fishery. In the early 1990s, the number of fishers on the lake was 6,563, of which 3,027 were associated with the pelagic fishery and 3,536 with the traditional fishery. Widespread armed conflict in the surrounding region from the mid-1990s resulted in a decline in the fisheries harvest.

The lake covers a total surface area of some 2,700&nbsp;km2 (1,040 sq&nbsp;mi) and stands at a height of 1,460&nbsp;metres (4,790 ft) above sea level. Some 1 370 km2 or 58% of the lake's waters lie within DRC borders. The lake bed sits upon a rift valley that is slowly being pulled apart, causing volcanic activity in the area, and making it particularly deep: its maximum depth of 480&nbsp;m (1,575 ft) is ranked fifteenth in the world. The lake is surrounded by majestic mountains.

The world's tenth-largest inland island, Idjwi, lies in Lake Kivu, as does the tiny island of Tshegera, which also lies within the boundaries of Virunga National Park; while settlements on its shore include Bukavu, Kabare, Kalehe, Sake and Goma in Congo and Gisenyi, Kibuye and Cyangugu in Rwanda.

Native fish include species of Barbus, Clarias, og Haplochromis, as well as Nile Tilapia, one of two species known as the Tanganyika sardine, was introduced in 1959 and formed the basis of a new pelagic zone fishery. In the early 1990s, the number of fishers on the lake was 6,563, of which 3,027 were associated with the pelagic fishery and 3,536 with the traditional fishery. Widespread armed conflict in the surrounding region from the mid-1990s resulted in a decline in the fisheries harvest.